Ramstein Airmen Work Together to Change ‘Lie to Fly’ Culture

Ramstein Airmen Work Together to Change ‘Lie to Fly’ Culture

April 28, 2025 | By David Roza

The 86th Operations Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany is pioneering a new program that could help improve mental health outcomes for aviators across the Air Force.

The Military Aviator Peer Support (MAPS) program is a group of 32 air crew members trained to be a helpful, confidential ear for peers to discuss challenges in their personal or professional lives. The idea is to give Airmen an opportunity to talk with someone who understands their situation and who will not mark it in their records.

“The special skillset of a peer program is to allow you to speak freely to someone who understands the operational environment that you are telling your story from,” said Lt. Col. Sandra Salzman, a pilot-physician with the 37th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein who is helping spearhead MAPS.

Health care is a challenge for aviators, who often misrepresent or withhold health information from flight surgeons out of fear that they might lose their flying status. A 2023 review found that out of 264 military pilots, 190 (72 percent) reported a history of health care avoidance, 111 (42.5 percent) misrepresented or withheld information on a written health care questionnaire, 89 (33.7 percent) flew despite experiencing a new physical or psychological symptom that they felt probably should be evaluated by a physician, and 30 (11.4 percent) reported a history of undisclosed medical prescription use.

Air Force pilots said in a study last year that fear of being taken off flight duty; worries about judgment from peers and leadership; concern that providers might over-diagnose symptoms; lack of available appointments; and lack of education about health treatment for aviators were among the factors discouraging them from seeking mental and physical health care.

“Pilots attempted to ‘feel out’ responses from peers by explaining a condition as a joke or broadly talking around an issue to see what kind of response they would get,” the study said. “One pilot explained that he/she received an ‘all right, good luck’ response from a peer, which he/she perceived as negative, influencing his/her decision to not go to a clinic.”

Then-Maj. Sandra Salzman, 37th Airlift Squadron C-130J Super Hercules pilot-physician, flies a C-130J aircraft over Germany, March 31, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Megan M. Beatty)

Indeed, the prospect of going to a clinic was another intimidating factor: talking with a flight surgeon in the usual squadron buildings made the pilot “feel less trapped” than formally scheduling an appointment at a separate facility.

Military pilots are not alone: a 2022 study found that 56 percent of 3,756 civilian pilots reported a history of health care avoidance behavior due to fear of losing flying status. But the civilian pilots have an advantage: airlines and associations across North America and Europe have adopted peer support programs for pilots and flight attendants to get advice on stressful challenges before they can metastasize into a problem that risks lives or careers.

“These are people facing one of life’s usual stressors: divorce, a sick child, maybe a pilot promoted from first officer to captain, and they have a really challenging schedule flying a lot at nights, and there’s discord at home,” said Capt. William Hoffman, an Air Force neurologist and aeromedical researcher with the 59th Medical Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Hoffman also co-authored the three studies cited above and has advocated to change “lie to fly” culture for years.

“It’s a really hard job, and to connect with another pilot who understands what that’s like and can provide an empathetic, non-judgmental ear is incredibly valuable,” he added. “In the clinical literature, sometimes it matters less what strategy you use in therapy, and it’s more about a trusting relationship with your therapist.”

That may be even more true in the military, where aviators can’t always tell friends or family everything in order to preserve operational security.

“It’s really hard to explain to your spouse or your friend, ‘you know, I was flying into a dangerous place, and we were watching for these dangerous things. And also, this person keeps pumping this button,’” Salzman said. “So to have somebody that already understands the environment, you can just be like, ‘they kept keying their mic every time I tried to talk.’ Just to say it out loud and get it off your chest and have someone say, ‘I’d be upset too,’ can help you feel better.”

Then-Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass said in 2024 that only two out of every 10 Airmen who seek mental health need clinical support, according to mental health providers. “The other eight just need to know someone cares,” she said.

There are no formal scientific studies of whether these peer support programs work, Hoffman said, but informal experience suggests that perhaps as many as 95 percent of pilots who seek peer support help don’t require escalation to a mental health provider. 

“All those people would probably otherwise just forgo care altogether, or get worse until they actually need to see a mental health provider,” Hoffman said.

Capt. Johnny Murphy and Capt. Lukas Pulice, 37th Airlift Squadron pilots, discuss mental health resources during Military Aviator Peer Support wingman face-to-face training at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Feb. 19, 2025. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jared Lovett

Bringing It to the Air Force

Salzman was inspired to bring aviator peer support to the Air Force after seeing Hoffman and civilian aviation peer support leaders present about the topic at an Aerospace Medical Association conference last June.

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’ve got to have one of these,’” she recalled.

Salzman worked with Hoffman, the 59th Medical Wing, and Stiftung Mayday, an aviator peer support program based in Germany. Stiftung Mayday began in the 1990s, building its program off skills taught by the U.S. Air Force sexual harassment/assault response and prevention team stationed at Ramstein Air Base. Stiftung Mayday serves civil aviators across the European Union, the lieutenant colonel said. It came full circle when Stiftung helped Salzman design a training program for Air Force peer support wingmen.

The training takes about two days and involves both computer-based training and in-person role play.

“A moderator helps you reframe issues to see actionable options with positive side effects and get comfortable with asking difficult questions and then shutting up to hear the answer,” Salzman said. “That is the hardest part of all: being quiet and listening.”

The program started in November and there are now 32 peer support wingmen: about 10 peer support wingmen per squadron at the 86th Operations Group, including pilots, loadmasters, flight attendants, and air traffic controllers. A list is published in the group’s electronic flight bags, along with contact information and where to find them.

Group members “can reach out to them via any of the ways that they have listed on there, and ask them, ‘Hey, can I chat with you for a few minutes?’” Salzman said.

lie to fly
Participants of the Military Aviator Peer Support wingman face-to-face training pose for a photo at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Feb. 19, 2025. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jared Lovett

MAPS is the latest in an ecosystem of support programs, including crisis action teams, finance teams, and substance abuse counselors, Salzman explained. But since MAPS is made up of fellow aviators who work alongside their peers, they serve as a first line of defense for addressing life’s problems, and as a way to point to other resources if needed.

“It is so easy to de-escalate a brewing issue if you can just get it off your chest,” Salzman said.

Ground rules are important: MAPS does not keep records of its conversations to preserve confidentiality. Peer support wingman also must report any “red flag” events, such as having suicidal or homicidal intent or breaching operational security. MAPS wingmen can also talk with Salzman or Lt. Col. Darrell Zaugg, a psychiatric flight surgeon co-leading the effort.

“They don’t have to name names, that way I’m not putting stress on them,” Salzman said. “I don’t want them to go to sleep with a secret that makes them uncomfortable.”

Stiftung Mayday had just 24 meetings in the first year of its program. By comparison, about 50 people consulted with MAPS in its first six months, and about 40 percent of them discussed flying-related issues, Salzman estimated. Only a few of the 50 needed professional help.

“Commanders have come to me and said, ‘I can tell that what you’re doing is having an impact for the better within the morale of the squadron,’” the lieutenant colonel said.

“Typically our community is very stoic: everything is fine and you herk the mission and you don’t complain,” she explained. “So to pull people from their shells and say, ‘it’s all right, if you’re having a thing, I know you can still fly. What can I do to help?’ That means a lot, and it changes the culture a little bit.”

U.S. Air Force Capt. William Hoffman, 59th Medical Wing Office of Science and Technology neurologist and aeromedical researcher assigned to Joint Base San Antonio – Lackland, Texas, gives a speech during a Military Aviator Peer Support wingman face-to-face training at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Feb. 19, 2025. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jared Lovett

Next Steps

Hoffman said cultural change and buy-in from leadership is ultimately needed to replace “lie to fly” with something more proactive in terms of treating mental and physical health.

“Commanders at the front telling stories of what success looks like is going to be where I think real progress is going to be made,” Hoffman said, pointing as an example to former Air Mobility Command boss Gen. Mike Minihan’s efforts to reduce the stigma around mental health treatment.

“When there’s a leader like that who is clearly mission-focused, but acknowledges that people are also living their life, and it’s normal to have feelings and challenges, I think that really brought the narrative forward in a major way.” Hoffman said.

For now, Salzman plans to study for a year how many people use the program and what support agencies are most needed. Depending on the data, she’ll make a recommendation to Air Force Medical Command whether the program should expand beyond Ramstein. Salzman has an exportable package for starting up similar programs in other units. The only cost would be possibly paying for a license to a United Kingdom-based software company for the computer-based training, should MAPS be scaled up across the service.

“Beyond that, it is the lowest cost program that I’ve ever seen that can make a cultural shift in a flying unit, which is really hard to do,” she said.

Hoffman said the next step is a larger-scale feasibility study for expanding peer support in the Air Force, but it would require funding. That funding may have to come from the operational community, since peer support does not look like typical medical treatment and there is little foundational research to serve as the basis for a formal medical study, he said.

“It’s not really a medical problem, it’s an operational problem,” Hoffman explained. “So we really need the operational community to sponsor work on this.”

By improving aviator well-being, Salzman said, MAPS should also make flying safer.

“Mutual support is something aviators understand in the air,” she said. “When we’re provided with the tools to apply that on the ground as well, it only makes our units stronger and it decreases our operational risk factors by an unmeasured amount.”

Congress Unveils $150B in New Defense Spending for 2025

Congress Unveils $150B in New Defense Spending for 2025

April 28, 2025 | By Greg Hadley

The heads of the House and Senate Armed Services committees unveiled a plan for $150 billion in new defense spending in fiscal 2025 as part of a package of spending measures designed to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda. 

“This legislation represents a generational upgrade for our nation’s defense capabilities, including historic investments in new technology,” said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chair of the SASC, in the April 27 announcement. Added Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), his counterpart in the House: “With this bill, we have the opportunity to get back on track and restore our national security and global leadership.”

Still to come is the president’s 2026 budget request, which the Trump administration is expected to unveil in May. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has promised the first ever $1 trillion defense budget in ’26. The reconciliation package won’t be part of that; its funds are being counted toward fiscal 2025 and can be spent through fiscal 2029. 

But first, Congress must deal with fiscal 2025 spending. The newly proposed bill would inject billions in additional funds into major Air Force priorities like nuclear modernization, aircraft sustainment, and exercises in the Indo-Pacific, and set aside$24.7 billion to fund the president’s “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative, much of it for Space Force satellites and weapon systems. 

The biggest Air Force initiatives in the package include: 

  • $4.5 billion to accelerate production of the B-21 bomber 
  • $3.15 billion to increase planned production of the F-15EX fighter 
  • $2.12 billion for “readiness packages to keep Air Force aircraft mission capable,” a major underfunded priority
  • $678 million for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the autonomous unmanned jets being developed to fly alongside manned fighters 
  • $532 million for Pacific Air Forces to host major biennial exercises 
  • $500 million extra for the F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter 

Experts say the proposed funds, which still face a lengthy process to approval, only start to address longstanding funding issues that date back years. 

“The Air Force needs sustained growth in its budget,” said Mark Gunzinger, a retired USAF colonel and former deputy assistant secretary of defense now with AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “One-off increases in budget allocation for the Air Force is not going to address long-term readiness, insufficient force structure, insufficient flying hours, and so forth.”

Gunzinger co-authored a set of recommendations for the Trump administration calling for an extra $45 billion a year to the Air Force and Space Force. He called the proposed legislation “a very positive signal that [Congress] is sending about the need to rebuild our Air Force.” 

An F-15EX Eagle II takes off from Portland Air National Guard Base, Ore., last July. The new congressional spending plan would increase investment in the jets, one of just two U.S. fighters currently in production. U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Nichole Sanchez

Todd Harrison, a budget analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, called the proposal a “down payment” that to be the start of a “sustained effort.”  

Gunzinger echoed that point: “You ou have to applaud the Congress for doing it, but at the same time you have to say, it’s the start, but we need follow through.” 

Delineating how the new funding breaks down between the different services and combatant commands is difficult. Lawmakers specifically noted $7.2 billion for air superiority efforts, $12.9 billion for nuclear modernization, and $11.1 billion for activities in the Indo-Pacific, though all of those sections include non-Air Force programs. A rough accounting of USAF programs adds up to about $18 billion, not including joint missile procurement with the Navy, and considerably less than the $33.7 billion lawmakers want to invest in revitalizing Navy shipbuilding. That total includes $5.4 billion for two guided missile destroyers, $4.6 billion for an extra attack submarine, and $3.7 billion for an amphibious assault ship.

Harrison and Gunzinger agreed that the Navy was a clear benefactor from the spending package. 

“They’ve got a lot of big-ticket things … and I think there is pretty broad support within the Republican Party for shoring up the shipbuilding industrial base [and to] try to grow the Navy,” Harrison said. 

Gunzinger said “to an extent, that makes sense, because a conflict with China in the western Pacific, God forbid, that’s probably going to be an air, maritime, space, and cyber fight.” But he also credited the Navy for “very successfully informing the Hill” about its needs. “The Air Force has just recently begun talking about the need for more Air Force, which is exactly correct,” he added. 

What’s Next 

The new legislation now faces a long, complicated process, called “reconciliation,” to become law. The House and Senate first adopted respective concurrent resolutions directing their various committees to draft legislation either cutting or adding spending; the Armed Services panels were each told to “change laws within its jurisdiction,” and empowered to add up to an extra $150 billion. 

Now that Wicker and Rogers have done so, the House will markup the initial bill, and other committees will work through their respective chambers’ budget committee. All the measures will be rolled up into one massive package, which then must each be approved by the full House and Senate. 

Top congressional Republicans have said they want to finish the process in the coming months—Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson has said he wants his chamber to pass a completed bill by Memorial Day.  

Boeing Claims Progress on T-7 and Other Challenged Programs

Boeing Claims Progress on T-7 and Other Challenged Programs

April 25, 2025 | By John A. Tirpak

Boeing’s defense programs saw huge losses in the past decade, but the company now says it has got those issues under control and is steadily improving its performance and approaching profitability. Boeing suffered no losses from defense programs in the most recent quarter, a welcome improvement from 2024 when the company lost $5.4 billion on defense.

“We’ve made real good progress,” said Boeing president and CEO Kelly Ortberg during the company’s April 23 earnings call. Programs improving include the T-7 trainer, VC-25 presidential transport, KC-46 tanker, and Starliner space capsule

“I think we’ve got all these programs now, well-contained,” he said. “I’m not claiming victory yet—we’ve got a lot of work to do—but I do think our discipline, cost, risk management, and active management with our customers to get to a win-win on these programs is helping.” 

Boeing is stabilizing its fixed-price contracts as the programs mature. “This quarter results reflected stabilizing operational performance, and we remain focused on retiring risk each quarter and ultimately delivering these mission-critical capabilities to our customers,” Ortberg said.

Cracks discovered in KC-46 aileron hinges in February—which triggered a temporary hold on new tanker deliveries—were “identified … very quickly,” Ortberg said.

“It isn’t a safety-of-flight issue,” he said. “The population that they had to [repair] was small. The rework, they could get to that very quickly. So it really wasn’t a big deal.”

Since January when the Air Force and Boeing signed a Memorandum of Agreement on how to proceed with the T-7, the program has progressed, Ortberg said.

“We achieved the first two [Engineering and Manufacturing Development] performance milestones outlined in the MOA,” Ortberg said, “which continues to be an important example of how we are working with our customers to find better overall outcomes for both parties.”

Under the deal, the Air Force is buying four additional test aircraft—in addition to the five already accepted—that are of a “production representative” configuration, in order to accelerate the test program, already some two years behind schedule. The aircraft, bought with research and development money, will be delivered in fiscal 2026. Assuming no further substantive delays, the T-7 will be ready for operations in 2027, about four years later than originally planned.

Overall, Ortberg said, “the defense portfolio is well positioned for the future, and we still expect the business to return to historical performance levels as we continue to stabilize production, execute our development programs and transition to new contracts with tighter underwriting standards.”

The call was the first since Boeing won the F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter contract in March, but Ortberg said little due to government secrecy. “We’re not at liberty to disclose anything relative to the contract structure beyond what the Air Force has said,” Ortberg explained. The Air Force has said Boeing won the cost-plus contract on the basis of “best value.”

“Clearly we haven’t come off our strategy of ensuring we’re entering into the appropriate contract type for the appropriate type of work,” Ortberg said. In past years, Boeing was guilty of underbidding, but more recently the company has sworn off low-ball and fixed-price bids. Such gambles have cost the company at least $10 billion over the past decade.  

“So, I wouldn’t worry that we’ve signed up to … undue risk, like we’ve done in some of our past fixed-price programs,” Ortberg said. “But that’s about all I can say on that right now.”

Kadena Adds Second Batch of F-35s to Its Fighter Rotation

Kadena Adds Second Batch of F-35s to Its Fighter Rotation

April 25, 2025 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

The Air Force deployed a second group of F-35s to Kadena Air Base this month, reinforcing its fighter presence at the key base in the wake of retiring all operational F-15C Eagles from the installation.

The stealthy jets and Airmen from the 421st Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the “Black Widows” out of Hill Air Force Base, Utah, touched down at the base on Japan’s Okinawa island on April 24. Kadena is now hosting two F-35 squadrons, with the Hill unit joining an F-35 squadron from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska—as well as F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., arrived earlier this month.

“Our unit values the distinctive training opportunities afforded by our deployment to the Indo-Pacific and is eager to contribute to the mission,” Lt. Col. Bryan Mussler, 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander, said in a release.

A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, lands at Kadena Air Base, Japan, April 24, 2025. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Arnet Tamayo

This marks back-to-back deployment of Hill F-35s to Kadena, following a previous assignment that began in November.

“The Black Widows are thrilled to be back and flying with our allies and partners here at Kadena,” Mussler added.

Hill is home to three active-duty F-35 fighter squadrons under the 388th Fighter Wing: the 4th, 34th, and 421st Fighter Squadrons, each equipped with 24 stealth fighters and 6 backup jets. The base’s reserve unit, the 419th Fighter Wing, also operates its own fleet of F-35s and supports routine operations through the 466th Fighter Squadron. Over the past two years, members from all four squadrons have been deployed to Kadena at least once.

With two new F-35 squadrons on the ground, Kadena’s 18th Wing is phasing out its previous fighter rotation. The F-35s of the Vermont Air National Guard’s 134th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, which arrived at the base in January, have returned from Japan as of April 25, a Vermont ANG spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine. The rest of the Vermont Guardsmen are also expected to return “very soon,” as they wrap up their four-month tour at the base.

A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, lands at Kadena Air Base, Japan, April 24, 2025. The continuous rotation of aircraft to Kadena ensures the 18th Wing remains flexible and postured to deliver lethal and credible airpower to deter acts of aggression. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Arnet Tamayo)

The active-duty squadron deployment to the strategic base typically lasts 5 to 6 months, involving hundreds of Airmen, including pilots, maintainers, and support crew for the fighter jets. During the 388th Fighter Wing’s previous assignment with the 18th Wing, Airmen highlighted the different tempo of being stationed at the strategic base 400 miles from mainland China.

“Here we have near-peer threats right across the water and we are expected to go out and perform every day with a moment’s notice,” Senior Airman Jideofur Emeka, 34th Force Generation Squadron dedicated crew chief, said in a release.

The 18th Wing has hosted a steady stream of fighter deployments since the Air Force began phasing out its F-15C/D models in 2022. The base will continue hosting rotations of fourth- and fifth-generation jets throughout its full transition to a fleet of 36 F-15EXs. This unique rotation also gives deployed Airmen the chance to train alongside units and aircraft they wouldn’t typically work with.

“Being out here [at Kadena] gives us the opportunity to fly with the other aircraft that are out here rotationally like the F-22, the F-16, the F-15s that are still here,” said Capt. Stephen Schultz, 34th EFS pilot and weapons team chief.

The wing anticipates the first delivery of the Eagle IIs between March and June 2026.

Meanwhile, Misawa Air Base, located on the northernmost edge of Japan, is set to phase out its fleet of F-16s starting this summer, replacing them with 48 F-35s to become the first U.S. base in Asia to permanently host the stealth fighter fleet. A series of fighter rotations similar to Kadena’s may begin at Misawa later this year to ensure no gaps in operations during the transition, as the base won’t receive its first batch of F-35s until spring 2026.

New Jersey F-16s Lend Their ‘Voice’ to Popular Flight Simulator

New Jersey F-16s Lend Their ‘Voice’ to Popular Flight Simulator

April 25, 2025 | By David Roza

F-16s assigned to the New Jersey Air National Guard will live forever in the popular video game Microsoft Flight Simulator, thanks to an audio producer whose goal is to help make virtual flight as realistic as possible.

“It’s not just sound, it’s an experience,” Tyler Bolhuis, CEO and founder of Echo 19 Audio Productions, told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “I’m so passionate about the flight sim environment, and I want other people to experience that excitement.”

Bolhuis visited the 177th Fighter Wing at Atlantic City Air National Guard Base in February to record the sounds that virtual pilots will hear flying the F-16, including cockpit switches and buttons, the battery turning on, the canopy opening and closing, the engines starting up, and the roar of the fighter as it flies overhead at low altitude.

The audio will feature in an upcoming module for the 2024 and 2020 editions of Microsoft Flight Simulator, the best-selling series enjoyed by pilots, aviation fans, and aspiring Air Force aviators alike. Third-party developers—in this case a well-known developer called IndiaFoxtEcho—create and sell add-ons for specific aircraft that users can fly on Microsoft Flight Simulator or other programs.

It is a full-circle moment for Bolhuis, who growing up felt the sound design of flight simulator add-ons often misrepresented the aircraft he heard at airshows.

“Even at a young age, I was like, ‘this just doesn’t sound right,’ which was frustrating after working hard for an allowance to buy an add-on,” he said.

Over time, Bolhuis made a name for himself producing high-quality sound mods for games such as Arma and Digital Combat Simulator, so much so that his hobby became a full-fledged business when he started Echo 19. 

“Flight simulation audio is a very niche business, but it’s worked out well so far,” he said. “The graphics look so good in modern-day video games, but sound really drives emotion.”

Bolhuis has recorded C-17s, F/A-18 Super Hornets, F-35s, civilian helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, and older warbirds such as the P-51. The C-17 in particular is a treat to listen to as all the subsystems on the flight deck power up, he said.

Tyler Bolhuis, founder and CEO of Echo19 Audio Production, records the sound of a closing cockpit canopy on an F-16 assigned to the 177th Fighter Wing at Atlantic City Air National Guard Base, N.J., Feb. 26, 2025. Screenshot via U.S. Air National Guard video by Senior Airman Connor Taggart

The 177th Fighter Wing was excited about the opportunity and covered the event with a press release and video posted to social media. Bolhuis timed his visit to coincide with scheduled F-16 maintenance and practice flights, so taxpayers did not have to pay for any additional gas or man-hours.

Recording aircraft sounds requires careful planning and familiarity with the aircraft; the ear-shredding roar of a fighter jet engine, for example, requires special microphones that can pick up such a high level of noise in a detailed way. 

“You could capture those loud sounds on your iPhone, but it’s going to sound a lot different compared to a $1,000 or $1,500 microphone designed to pick up specific frequencies,” Bolhuis explained. 

Each type of engine has unique characteristics: the F-16’s General Electric engine has a slightly different tone while sitting idle or ramping up RPMs compared to the Pratt & Whitney F-16 engine, for example. 

“That’s where it becomes really important to know the aircraft that you’re recording,” Bolhuis explained. “We spend a lot of time researching and talking with the developers about the unique features of the aircraft.”

The producer uses multiple microphones to capture those unique sounds, including the way the engine intake sucks in air.

“We essentially create layers so that we can create a mix of certain sounds and frequencies that we want to highlight,” he explained.

Tyler Bolhuis, founder and CEO of Echo19 Audio Production, records the sound of a flight control stick on an F-16 assigned to the 177th Fighter Wing at Atlantic City Air National Guard Base, N.J., Feb. 26, 2025. Screenshot via U.S. Air National Guard video by Senior Airman Connor Taggart

Safety comes first, so Bolhuis briefs the plan with the base, the air crew, and the maintainers beforehand. It’s not uncommon for Airmen to recognize the Echo 19 brand and be excited to meet its founder.

“They’re like, ‘whoa, you’re Echo 19?'” he said. “I feel a little out of it because I’m like, ‘oh my God, I’m famous,’” he said.  

The Airmen helpfully turned off fans and kept down chatter in the hangar while Bolhuis captured the cockpit noises.

“We’ll get as many as we can, understanding that most of the switches and buttons sound the same,” he explained. “Some of them don’t make sounds, but in video games and flight simulators, we rely on auditory feedback to get a sense that that action has happened.” 

The hard work starts when Bolhuis gets back to his home in Michigan to edit the audio, which takes up the vast majority of his time on a project.

“It takes a lot of work to get sounds to translate from the real world into a digital one, but it’s a very rewarding process,” he said.

There has not been a publicly announced release date for the add-on featuring the Jersey Devils F-16s, but when it does come out, the jets should sound just like they did that day in February.

“It’s cool to be able to give these iconic planes the sounds that they truly deserve,” Bolhuis said.

Air Force Futures Boss Leans Toward ‘Low End’ CCA in Next Increment

Air Force Futures Boss Leans Toward ‘Low End’ CCA in Next Increment

April 24, 2025 | By John A. Tirpak

The next iteration of the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft are likely to be less sophisticated than Increment 1, now in development—and could include air-launched vehicles, according to the head of Air Force Futures.

“I think you’ll see a range of options, from the low end to potentially a more exquisite” autonomous, uncrewed CCA, said Maj. Gen. Jospeh D. Kunkel during an AFA “Warfighters in Action” discussion April 24. “I tend to think that it’s probably going to be closer to this low-end thing, when we start looking at the further CCA increments.”

Kunkel acknowledged that, in his last months in the job, former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall speculated that Increment 2 would be a “more exquisite” aircraft than Increment 1, which yielded two aircraft that are now in fabrication and expected to start flight tests this summer.

“It might be,” Kunkel said. “But we’re also seeing that there’s going to be room … for other capabilities that aren’t as exquisite … that are cheaper, that provide mass.” Kunkel said the driving purpose driving CCA development is the need for “affordable mass,” the ability to put more aircraft in the skies to overwhelm and confuse adversaries without breaking the bank.

“We’ve got to look at … how we generate combat power, and that generation of combat power from bases is important, but there might be other ways … that don’t rely on bases,” Kunkel said. “That might be something that we might be looking at as we start looking at future increments of CCA. That is a big portion of it.”

Increment 1 prototypes being built by Anduril Industries and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems will take off conventionally, from a runway, and their mission will be air-to-air combat—to be flying weapons magazines that escort and help defend crewed fighters. Later increments have long been expected to take on other missions, such as electronic warfare and ground attack.

Kunkel said the idea for CCAs came from “baby F-22 drivers” like himself years ago, “sitting around the bar at Elmendorf, saying, ‘Man, I ran out of missiles after only five minutes of fight. If only I had this ‘loyal wingman,’ that wouldn’t talk back to me, but would also be able to just shoot some missiles.’ … We didn’t call it CCA back then, but we’re now getting to the point [of] realizing” the concept.

An air-launched CCA would have to be significantly smaller and lighter than Increment 1 aircraft; it is not clear whether that would be less costly. The Air Force has experimented with launching pallets of missiles from the back of cargo planes, under a series of tests called Rapid Dragon, which Kunkel seemed to reference.  

A less-sophisticated CCA would overlap with the utility of cruise missiles, said one industry critic who questioned the concept. “We already have missiles that don’t come back,” he said. “Why build something that is meant to have hundreds of hours of use if you’re going to use it like a missile? The math doesn’t add up.”

Kunkel also said CCAs will likely support virtually all combat aircraft, from the new F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance fighter to F-16s, and also could be used independently from crewed aircraft, as well.

“Integration with the F-47 makes the F-47 better. CCA integration with F-35, F-22 … I would suggest, potentially in the future, the B-21, E-7, and maybe just a CCA on its own, complicates the adversary picture, [and] puts us in a better position,” Kunkel said.

Flying fleets of CCAs will tax adversaries’ defenses, making it “a more complex and harder fight” by attacking from multiple axes, and creating a “dense threat environment.”

Kunkel said the future Air Force force design started a year ago is now “mature” and will be completed soon. It will be adaptive and “enduring,” rather than something in need of constant revision. But it will take time to execute, perhaps a decade to be complete. It will also be fundamentally joint, and predicated on accomplishing effects at long range. The Air Force and other services have formed a “Joint, Long-Range Kill Chain Organization” to collaborate on leveraging digital connectivity to ensure faster target hand-offs to empower the platform best positioned to make a needed strike.  

The new force design will depend on industry’s ability to generate and sustain an evolving selection of weapons that will not be so pricey as to be exhausted after a few weeks of intensive fighting, he said.

“We’ve been pursuing cheaper weapons,” because the U.S. needs to impose cost on the adversary, rather than the reverse, Kunkel said.

“If we’re shooting multimillion dollar missiles against…multi-thousand dollar drones…that doesn’t make sense for us,” he said. “We need to figure out how to do it so we don’t find ourselves…depleting weapons, when, frankly, we don’t need to.”

The Air Force can ill afford to use up “the exquisite weapons they have on day one,” and then turn to “turn into, you know, “moderately exquisite weapons on day 15, and then by day 30 … [start] dropping Mark 82 and dumb bombs that we’ve had since World War II. We want to put [the future force] in position where this weapons portfolio we have is pretty solid, and you can count on the same from day one through day 600.”

Kunkel said last month’s selection of Boeing to build the “game-changing” F-47 made for a “fantastic day for the Air Force,” because “it showed the confidence of the President…in our United States Air Force, which I think is extremely important [and] it also assured air superiority for generations to come.”

He said the service came full circle in its monthslong reassessment of the NGAD program.

“I guess we probably didn’t need to do the analysis, because what we found is that we were right, that air superiority, in fact, does matter, that it changes the entire complex of the fight … not just for the Air Force [but for] the joint force…It allows…the joint force to get places where it otherwise couldn’t.”

The F-47, Kunkel said, “allows us to move closer to the adversary, allows us to counter the adversary.”

SDA Hires an Integrator to Keep Its Next Satellite Tranche on Schedule

SDA Hires an Integrator to Keep Its Next Satellite Tranche on Schedule

April 24, 2025 | By Greg Hadley

After supply chain challenges delayed the first few tranches of its ambitious low-Earth orbit constellation, the Space Development Agency is changing its approach, hiring an engineering and integration partner to help manage the next tranche of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

SDA awarded a $55 million contract to SAIC on April 22 for “system engineering and integration support activities,” through which SAIC will help review and manage requirements, schedule, engineering, and risk management for Tranche 3. According to the contract solicitation, the winning bidder would oversee technical reviews, schedule management, verification and integration test plans, as well as “trade studies” to help prioritize and “inform critical decisions that impact [Tranche 3] Program delivery.”

It’s the first time SDA has hired an integrator for this purpose; it previously awarded $887 million in management and integration contracts to General Dynamics Mission Systems to integrate ground systems for Tranches 1 and 2; those contracts focused on outfitting operations centers and ensuring data compatibility among disparate satellites feeding into an integrated architecture. 

The SAIC deal is broader, designed to “enable the delivery of the T3 Program,” a significant departure from SDA’s prior practice, an agency official told Air & Space Forces Magazine.  

The decision to bring in integration support comes as SDA faces some pressure to move from contract awards to capabilities in orbit. Its initial “Tranche 0” satellites launched in 2023 and early 2024 after several delays, and its first Tranche 1 launch has been delayed until late this summer. Officials cited delivery delays and issues with contractors not being able to scale their supply chain. 

“With the spiral development model, SDA continuously pushes lessons learned into subsequent tranches,” a spokesperson said. “SDA decided to contract with a Tranche 3 integrator based on lessons learned from acquiring and delivery of Tranche 1 and Tranche 2.” 

Tranche 3 is expected to include around 190 satellites and will be the first to replace earlier PWSA satellites with refreshed, improved capabilities. The objective is to maintain a steady state of around 450 satellites in the architecture. 

For now, SDA is sticking with its latest projected launch schedule: Tranche 1 will start going up in late summer 2025, Tranche 2 in late 2026, and Tranche 3 in late summer 2028. The goal is to deliver initial regional coverage with Tranche 1, followed by global coverage with Tranche 2. 

Sticking to that schedule could be crucial to SDA’s role in President Donald Trump’s ambitious “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative, which seeks to start fielding capability by early 2029. 

SDA already has a solicitation circulating for acquring Tranche 3 missile warning and tracking satellites; it is expected to release soon solicitations for the data transport satellites as well.

USAF Doubles Down on More F-16 Fighters near North Korea

USAF Doubles Down on More F-16 Fighters near North Korea

April 24, 2025 | By Unshin Lee Harpley and Chris Gordon

The U.S. Air Force will ramp up its presence near North Korea by sending more than two dozen additional F-16 fighters to Osan Air Base, South Korea, creating a second “super squadron” there.

Osan, located just 50 miles south of the Korean border, will welcome 31 extra Vipers and 1,000 Airmen from Kunsan Air Base to its southwest in October, service officials said. The latest move will further centralize the Air Force’s footprint on the peninsula. The Air Force started the “Super Squadron” initiative last year, relocating nine F-16s from Kunsan to Osan, upping the base’s fleet to 31 of the fighters—a number that is now set to double after Air Force Chief of Staff David W. Allvin recently signed off on the standup of the second super squadron.

“This temporary change allows us to test and validate force generation capabilities on the Korean peninsula, ultimately fostering a more lethal, ready air component,” Allvin wrote in a post on X. “The Super Squadron test aims to increase sortie generation and combat capability, while enhancing readiness and responsiveness.”

In a release, Seventh Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. David Iverson said the initiative has been a “success” so far and the Air Force now wants to consolidate its F-16s at Osan to further test the Super Squadron structure.

“The past months of data reveal that we’re on the right track and the consolidated, larger unit has shown some increases in readiness and combat capability, while also exposing some challenges,” said Iverson.

While Air Force officials say no permanent decisions have been made, the service has not specified exactly how long the experiment will last.

Two U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons assigned to the 36th Fighter Squadron park next to each other before being cleared to takeoff at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, March 19, 2025. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Dustin Braaten

The Air Force Personnel Center will begin making assignment updates for the affected Airmen in the coming weeks, according to Lt. Col. Aaron Tissot, Seventh Air Force director of manpower, personnel, and services.

“Our goal is to minimize disruptions and ensure a smooth transition for our Airmen throughout this process,” Tissot said.

The move also comes as Osan is in the process of bidding farewell to its 24 A-10 aircraft, where the 25th Fighter Squadron has flown the venerable close air support aircraft since 1993. Without the A-10, Osan would have been left with only one squadron of aircraft.

The previous F-16 transfer, initiated last summer, was originally intended to last a year. This upcoming second phase will continue to assess these areas on a larger scale, Air Force officials said.

The goal of Super Squadrons is to provide benefits in readiness and training while “reducing manpower and logistic support requirements,” said Lt. Col. Karl Wiest, a spokesperson for Allvin.

Allvin has previously said he wants to decrease excess infrastructure and logistical requirements across the Air Force and reinvest those funds.

“After thorough analysis, Osan was chosen as best able to support the housing and support needs of the Airmen required to execute the Super Squadron test, having recently supported similar personnel requirements during Kunsan’s runway construction project in 2023,” Wiest said.

The previous nine additional F-16s with Osan’s 36th Fighter Squadron supported a number of joint missions, including a recent Freedom Shield exercise in March by “participating in the live-fly exercise portions of the training, engaging in combat training missions focused on air interdiction, close air support, static and dynamic targeting and combat air patrols,” a Seventh Air Force spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.  

Many of these fighters also participated in an ACE exercise, deploying to an alternate base “to rehearse the unit’s ability to quickly maneuver forces around the region while maintaining combat flying operations,” the spokesperson added.

An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 36th Fighter Squadron takes off at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, March 10, 2025. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jason W. Cochran

The upcoming transfer will leave Kunsan with a far diminished flightline. Presuming the nine jets previously moved to Osan remain in place, the addition of 31 more would leave Kunsan with only a handful of aircraft.

For the time being however, the host 8th Fighter Wing plans to continue operating as “a primary exercise and rotational force bed-down location for U.S. air component forces in the ROK,” according to the release.

“We acknowledge this is a major shift in how we operate here at Kunsan,” said Col. Peter Kasarskis, 8th Fighter Wing commander. “We’ll meet this change with the same warfighter mindset the Wolf Pack has maintained through our history, and strengthen our ability to accept follow-on forces, defend the base, and take the fight north.”

The wing also plans to maintain active flightline operations and facilities as well as maintaining war reserve material and munitions at multiple locations across the country.